Shirt shape retaining board



June 23, 1964 E, WACHTEL SHIRT SHAPE RETAINING BOARD Filed April 4, 1963f wif). lu"

United States Patent O Ala.

Filed Apr. 4, 1963, Ser. No. 270,729 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-7) This inventionrelates to new and useful improvements in cardboard backing sheets formaintaining dress shirts and sport shirts for men, women, boys andchildren, in folded condition for display, storage and transportationpurposes.

eretofore, in an effort to display shirts to the best advantage and tokeep the shirt in shape, manufacturers have inserted thin cardboard onthe inside of the folded shirt, but in order to keep the shirt on thecardboard it has been necessary to use pins, strings and the like. Thisprocedure is very costly. Furthermore, the presence of the cardboardinside the folded shirt gives the shirt a cheap and stiff look so thatclerks are under instructions to pull out the cardboard insert beforepresenting the shirt for sale. This is time consuming and in thewithdrawal of the cardboard the shirt is liable to become mussed andoften the tissue paper found between the folds of the shirt is draggedout with the cardboard.

It is therefore an important object of the present invention to overcomethese disadvantages by packaging the shirt in a fashion that presents anice soft looking package on the counter.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a thin cardboardsheet capable of being readily attached to the back of a folded shirtfor temporarily maintaining the body of the shirt, the sleeves of theshirt and the collar of the shirt in neat, tailored, unwrinkled foldedcondition, causing the shirt to stay in a firm condition during transit.

A further object of the invention is to provide a thin cardboard backingsheet of this type with parts that automatically interlock with thecollar and buttons of the folded shirt, land that can easily and quicklybe removed from the folded shirt with a ick of the finger.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a rear elevational view of a folded dress shirt with a backingsheet made in accordance with the invention in position thereon.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the backing sheet.

Referring in detail to the various views of the drawing, in FIG. 1 ashirt 10 is shown in folded condition ready for display, storage ortransportation. The folded shirt assumes a rectangular shape. A backingand reinforcing sheet 12 embodying my invention is positioned over therear surface of the folded shirt. Sheet 12 is formed of thin cardboardand has a rectangular-shaped body 14. A flap 16 is formed along one end,the top end as viewed in FIG. 4, the juncture between said one end ofthe body and the flap, constituting a hinge 18.

An elongated slot 20 intersects the other end of the lCe body of thesheet at its center. The slot 20 is narrow with the edge Wall 22 thereofbeing closely spaced and tapering inwardly at its closed end.

When the shirt is folded as seen in FIG. 1, the tail end thereof isswung around into interposition over the rear panel of the shirt bodyand over the crossed sleeves, with the buttons 24 disposed along a lineat the center, in exposed condition. In use, the body of the backingsheet 12 is placed flatwise over the tail end of the folded shirt at therear and the flap 16 inserted under the collar 26 of the shirt at therear of the collar. The other end of the sheet 12 is then slightly bentand pushed downwardly with the edge walls 22 of the slot 20 slidingunderneath one of the buttons 24, the lowermost button as viewed in FIG.1, the button riding up in the slot until the sheet is iiattened out asseen in FIG. 1. When the sheet is in this condition, the iiap 16 is ininterlocking relation with the rear of the collar 26 of the Shirt andthe edge walls 22 of the slot 20 are in interlocking relation with thebutton 24 whereby the sheet is prevented from bulging outwardly or frombecoming displaced relative to the shirt. The backing sheet 12 holds thefolded shirt in unwrinkled, orderly fashion.

With the backing sheet 12 attached to the folded shirt 10 as aforesaid,the shirt is given a rigidity permitting it to be readily slid into abox for display, storage or transportation purposes and holds the shirtin the box in an unwrinkled, freshly ironed, soft appearance. When it isdesired to exhibit the shirt to a customer, the rigidity of the foldedshirt permits the shirt to be easily removed from the box, during whichoperation the sheet can be flipped olf of the shirt by a flip of thefinger without notice by the customer.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise construction herein disclosed and that various changes andmodifications may be made within the scope of the invention as definedin the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

A cardboard backing sheet for use in maintaining a i collar-attached,button-fastened, dress shirt in orderly folded fashion, said backingsheet having a rectangularshaped body, an integralflap at one endforming an elongation of the body for interlocking with the collar ofthe folded shirt, said body having an elongated slot intersecting theother end thereof at its center, the edge walls of said slot taperinginwardly and being spaced suiiiciently to interlock with a button on thefolded shirt inwardly of its fold to prevent displacement of the body soas to maintain the shirt in orderly folded fashion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

